Problem connecting to Plex remotely via iPhone app - any help appreciated

[davidsevern]

Hi,

This may be a stupid question because I half-suspect I’m misunderstanding how Plex works but the issue I’m having is that when my laptop is closed or powered off, I can’t connect to Plex via the iPhone app - I just get an infinite spinning loading wheel. I have paid the £4.99 to remove iPhone playback limitations as I thought this might be what is causing the problem, but it hasn’t made a difference. I’m using Plex to cast media to a Google Chromecast and ideally I’d like to be able to do this directly from my phone, without having to keep my laptop on. I have remote access turned on in my settings. Is it possible to use Plex in this way, or do I always need my laptop to function as an intermediary? See screenshots for reference..

Any help appreciated, thank you!

Server Version#: 1.20.2.3402
Player Version#: 4.34.4

[pshanew]

@davidsevern

when my laptop is closed or powered off, I can’t connect to Plex via the iPhone app

Plex is a client/server platform. In order to view your own media, your server must be available. So, if your Plex Media Server is installed on your laptop, it must be powered on and available to serve your media to your clients (the Plex app on your iPhone).

[davidsevern]

Thanks for clarifying, Philip. I assume there isn’t a way of using the iPhone itself as the server?

Cheers,

David